Natcore team outlines priority technologies

Natcore Technology Inc. scientists and advisers, following a meeting in Rochester, identified three priority technologies for commercialization for the solar energy industry, company officials said Friday.

The three technologies, official said, are:
• Black silicon—the etching of nano-size pores into a solar cell surface through gold or silver nanoparticles. Natcore scientists manufacture traditional solar cells and black silicon cells, and expect to have data on the cost savings soon.
• Selective emitter—a process that varies the thickness of doping, or treatment, on a cell to improve energy output and reduce resistance. The company said the application potentially can increase efficiencies by as much as 5 percent over current standards.
• Liquid phase deposition—Natacore’s proprietary process makes solar cell designs passive more simply and cost effectively than current methods.

The three applications could reduce manufacturing costs and increase performance in solar energy, officials said in a statement.

The three stand-alone applications are linked by Natcore’s liquid phase deposition technology, and offer the most direct path to commercialization, officials said. Marketing for the black silicon will begin soon.

The scientists and advisers met May 16 to 18 at Natcore’s research and development facility at Eastman Business Park. The company’s headquarters are being moved to Rochester from Red Bank, N.J.

The company provided the update because it recently added a meaningful number of shareholders, officials said.

Natcore holds 16 patents and has 21 others pending, officials said. Although it is focused on solar applications, Natcore technology could be used in areas such as coatings on sunglasses and in water heaters, and as part of solar cell technology on satellites.